The 25-year-old who hid Rosie O’Donnell’s teen daughter was charged with child endangerment.
The New Jersey man authorities say Rosie O’Donnell’s missing 17-year-old daughter after meeting her on the dating app on Tinder has been arrested and charged with child endangerment and distribution of obscenity to a minor, the AP reports.
According to police, 25-year-old Steve Sheerer initially denied Chelsea O’Donnell was in his home but the teen was later found hiding in the upstairs attic.
On Friday, police say they discovered “inappropriate communications” between the 17 and 25-year-old.
From Ashbury Park Press:
The prosecutor’s news release about Sheerer’s arrest said detectives received permission from the victim’s mother to retrieve the 17-year-old’s phone, which revealed inappropriate communications between Sheerer and the minor over the past several weeks.
Detectives later seized a computer and other digital equipment from Sheerer’s home. The seized items will be examined as part of a continuing investigation, authorities said.
“He was involved with a minor, and Rosie’s concern has been and always will be the health, safety and well-being of her daughter,” an O’Donnell spokesperson told the AP. “Rosie is profoundly appreciative for the work the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office has done and the diligence of the local police.”
Sheerer, who was reportedly convicted of child endangerment and put on probation for heroin possession in 2013, is currently being held on a $40,000 bail. If he his found guilty he faces up to 10 years in prison.
